


With Love & Care

by symsonic



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen, extra softness por favor, grumpy chef madbum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 04:42:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17318291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symsonic/pseuds/symsonic
Summary: Sometimes the best way to show your gratitude is by making something for someone, rather than buying something.





	With Love & Care

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarcasm_and_sabres](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasm_and_sabres/gifts).



The frost was absolutely blistering, yet Madison Bumgarner didn’t care. He was out here. Stranded. His pick-up truck, which he routinely calls his ‘pride and joy’ died on him. He promised that this was the last trip he was going to take it on before spending an entire weekend in the garage fixing it up.

But it couldn’t wait that long, he guessed.

Madison frowned. It was his fault, no reason to huff about it. He dialed his insurer’s roadside assistance hotline and they said they would send out a truck immediately, but that seemed like a hour ago. He leans on exterior of his car, arms crossed. His sherpa jacket could only keep him warm for so long. This was supposed to be a trip to his getaway cabin in Nova Scotia. He was supposed to be next to a warm fireplace right now, watching the snowfall illuminate the woodlands. Madison could imagine it in his head right now. The warmth of a shot of scotch kindling a burning sensation inside.

He takes out his phone and scrolls through the recent calls to make sure he didn’t miss anything from the tow truck. He comes across Buster’s number from an earlier conversation and an idea flickers. At this point, Madison began to think anything would be better than being stranded out here for another hour or so. He decides to send his teammate, and close friend a text.

  


There was silence from Buster’s end for a few minutes. Madison felt bad a little. This was supposed to be a fun escape for both of them. Buster and his wife would go sightseeing, and Madison could spend some alone time at the cabin. He saw some headlights in the distance, Bumgarner was hoping it was the tow truck, but no dice. It was a passer by. Sure enough, the car drove right past him, not even slowing down to take a look at what was going on. A moment later his phone buzzed and he sees that Buster replied.

  


Madison could only respond with a smile. There were no words that could express his gratitude, although the guilt swelled a little in his heart. He texted back a thank you, but it couldn’t even begin to cover how he felt. If there was one thing about him, he didn’t like feeling vulnerable, nor did he like asking for help. He preferred being self sufficient at almost everything. It didn’t matter now. He decides to go back in his car to wait it out. Madison reclines the driver's seat, closing his eyes and trying to get a few moments of rest before Buster arrives.

\---

The sound of three consecutive honks wakes up Madison Bumgarner as he looked out the window to see what was going on. He saw a black Jeep pull up in back of his truck, and out came Buster Posey, holding a set of jumper cables. _**“Hey bud!”** _Buster smiles. _**“Fun mess you got into huh?”**_

_**“I know, I know.”**_ Madison frowns. _**“I thought she could last one more trip.”**_

_**“Don’t worry about it, Bum.”** _Posey walks past him to the truck’s hood. Madison didn’t even notice a tinge of annoyance or anger in him. He was in a genuine happy mood, as always. _**“It’s what friends are for.”**_

That last line hit Madison in the gut. Here he was, stranded on a road during a Canadian winter, and his friend drove all the way god-knows how many miles to give him a jump and didn’t huff or puff a single time.

If Buster Posey wasn’t the definition of a best friend, then Madison didn’t know what was.

\---

After the truck started running, Madison drove the rest of the way to the cabin, with Buster trailing behind him just in case. He insisted that Posey go back St. John with his wife, but he refused. Apparently Buster already let his wife knew that he was going to stay overnight with Madison.

Which was funny because Madison himself didn’t know that until he mentioned it.

_**“Buster. It’s fine. Really.”** _Bumgarner frowns. He was already in his debt and felt guilty enough about this entire situation.

_**“No, no, no. I wanna stay over.”**_ Posey smiles warmly. His cheeks are a flushed red from the cold. _ **“Besides, driving back home at this time of night isn’t the best idea.”** _He was right. Madison didn’t have any accommodations for him, besides a sofa. Buster didn’t mind though. He never minded. He even offered him the bed, but Buster refused.

_**“It’s fine! Really. I like being by the fireplace.”** _

Madison flopped on the bed, frowning like a spoiled child. _He’s too goddamned nice to me._

It drove him crazy.

After getting settled Madison goes over to the little kitchen nook to see what shelf stable foods he had. Corn chips, marshmallows, chocolate, spices. Nothing to create an actual meal with. Unless you considered eating chocolate a meal, something Madison did back in college. Buster just lied on the sofa barefoot, feet kicked in the air. His eyes were closed, listening to the crackle of the fireplace. Madison stares at him for a few moments. It was kind of peaceful.

The growl of Madison’s stomach interrupted that brief moment of bliss unfortunately. He remembered that there’s some fresh chicken breasts in the cooler out in the truck. Bumgarner lets out an annoyed grunt and walks across the cabin back to the bedroom to put his boots back on.

The noise was apparently enough to wake Buster from his moment of zen. _**“H-hey Mad? Did you eat before driving out here?”**_

**“No. I have to cook something.”**  
  
“What’s on the menu?”

Madison exits the bedroom to deliver a sharp glare to Posey, whose smile immediately vanishes. He huffs and walks to the front door. _**“I have to grab the cooler from outside.”**_

Buster jumps up. _**“I can help!”**_

_**“No!”**_ He sharply responds, sending Buster straight back to the sofa in a bit of a shock. A moment passes before Madison realized what he just did. “I uh, it’s fine. Really.” He huffs. _ **“I can get it, Buster. You’re a guest here.”**_ With that he opens the door and is greeted to the harsh winter wind.

\---

The sizzling of the frying pan was always something that fascinated Buster. The oil dancing on the surface of the cast iron meaning it was ready to be used. As a child he was always too close to the stove and jumped when the first piece of raw food dropped into the pan, the oil splattering everywhere.

Buster still held that same fascination, but knew to keep an arm’s length distance from getting popped by the hot oil. He stays at the sofa, watching Madison move around in the kitchen preparing dinner. Bumgarner goes to the cabinet, takes out some nondescript spices and places them on the counter next to the chicken. He could hear the sizzling of the pan and Buster is excited once again.  


_**“Whatcha making?”**_ He asks.

_**“I ‘unno.”** _

Buster squints. He was half expecting that and half wasn’t. So he tries again. _**“I ‘unno sounds good. What are ya making it with?”**_

Madison turns around to see a sly smile on Buster’s face. It was obvious that he was trying to get the best of him. He turns his attention back to the chicken. _**“Chicken I’unno. You grab some chicken breasts, find any mixture of spices that somewhat go decent together, and you serve it with vegetables. Chicken I’unno.”**_

Buster was surprised he got that much out of him, even if it was a smartass answer. Madison rubs a chicken breast in a mixture of seasonings, before throwing it onto the pan, oil jumping absolutely everywhere, but he doesn’t move a single bit.The heat activated the aroma of the spices and gives the cabin a heavenly scent. Buster lies back onto the sofa and enjoyed the comfortable silence between the two, using the sizzling pan as white noise.

\---

The presentation was pretty impressive for one Madison Bumgarner. Two ceramic white plates, with a piece of chicken breast, heavily pan-seared. Next to it was a medley of vegetables. Buster could make out broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, carrots and zucchini. He could see they were lightly covered in some sort of sauce but he couldn’t make out what kind it was by eyes alone.

Madison grins as he hands Buster eating utensils wrapped in a napkin. “Chicken I ‘unno.” Buster opens up the napkin and grabs a fork, ready to eat. He cuts a piece of a chicken, which falls apart rather easily and stuffs it into his mouth, savoring the juices and the textures. He could only muster an “Mmm” while chewing. Madison sits down and starts to eat as well, starting with the vegetables. Once again, there was a comfortable silence between the two. They didn’t have to speak to each other to enjoy each other’s presence. Buster takes a bite of the vegetables. The sauce was savory, almost like something from a stir fry. His tongue played with the snap peas in his mouth.

_**“You playing with your food?”**_ Madison squints again. Apparently Buster wasn’t very subtle in what he was doing. It took him by surprise and Buster dropped his fork.

_**“Uh.”** _

After a few moments of silence, Madison erupts in laughter. He covers his mouth with his forearm to prevent any food from flying out of his mouth. _**“You’re a goddamned child, Buster.”**_

All Posey could do his swallow his food and twist up his mouth like a child, proving Madison completely right. He takes a swig of beer before finally responding. _**“I was trying to enjoy the food before I was interrupted.”**_

_**“Yeah, okay pal.”** _

Buster tries to change the subject. _**“Well, it’s very good. Regardless of my faces.”**_ Madison smiles and continued to eat. He looks at the windows, noticing that the snowfall was getting worse. Yet, it was calming to watch it inside. Here he was, eating a home-cooked meal with his closest friend in a cabin.

Sharing their silence together happily.

\---

That next morning, both men slept in. Till around 10am. Buster once again insisted that he sleep on the sofa, so Madison begrudgingly took the bedroom. Posey suspected that he must have done dishes overnight while he was asleep, because when he woke up, the dishes and plates were put away.

Madison leaves the bedroom fully dressed.

_**“Going out?”**_ Buster asks.

_**“I need to head back to the town to get some more groceries.”** _

_**“Yeah, I guess I should head back to St. John while the weather is mild.”** _Buster slowly gets up and walks to the door to get his boots.

_**“Hey Buster?”** _

Posey turns around. _ **“Huh?”**_

Madison pauses slightly. _ **“I just wanted to thank you again for last evening, helping me out.”** _He gives another rare smile. He’s giving them a lot these past 24 hours. _**“It meant alot.”**_

_**“Of course man.”**_ Buster replies. _**“Don’t mention it. I think that lovely meal last night was a good enough thanks.”**_

_**“The best way to get to someone’s heart is through their stomach, right?”** _

_**“Yep.”** _

Bumgarner laughs. _**“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”** _Buster puts on his boots and coat, and heads out the door with Madison. They both enter their respective cars and follow each other down the road to the nearest town, where they would say their goodbyes and split up; with Madison going back to the cabin, and Buster going back to St. John with his wife.

Both cars pull into the parking lot of a Sobeys. Buster pulls over to the side of Madison and lowers his side door window. _**“Well, it’s been fun. Will I catch you before Arizona in February?”**_

_**“Probably. Ali mentioned about wanting to see a Hurricanes hockey game with a few friends. I’ll be sure to smuggle you in somehow.”** _

Buster laughs. _**“I appreciate it. Or if you want to invite me over for one of your handcrafted meals again.”**_

Madison mimics his last line, teasing him.

_**“Alright alright. Be seeing ya.”** _Posey waves. _ **“Try to keep a spare battery on you, will ya?”**_ And with that, he puts up with window and drives off, with a honk signaling as a goodbye. Madison hits his car horn in response. After his friend drives out of sight, he leans further into his seat, reflecting on the past 24 hours. _I wonder if he really liked it._ It was originally just going to be for him, but he felt like he was almost trying to impress Buster -- even if it was just with a simple chicken and vegetables dinner.

There was one last thing he wanted to do before going into the store however. He takes out his phone and texts another teammate a question that’s been on his mind ever since last night.


End file.
